Strengthening the Science in Forensic
Science: An Update on Research and
Development
5th Annual Prescription for Criminal Justice
Forensics (June 6, 2014)
Gerry LaPorte
Acting Director
National Institute of Justice
Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences
What has been happening since 2009?
13 Recommendations
Recommendation #3
• Research is needed to address issues of accuracy,
reliability, and validity in the forensic science
disciplines.
Recommendation #5
• Encourage research programs on human observer
bias and sources of human error in forensic
examinations.
Focus of Discussion: Impression and
Pattern Evidence Disciplines
•
•
•
•
•
Friction Ridge Analysis (Latent Prints)
Firearm & Tool Mark Examinations (FTE)
Shoeprint and Tire Tread Evidence
Questioned Documents/Handwriting Examinations
Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA)
This discussion does not focus on Bite Mark
Evidence, Detector Dog Teams, Forensic Audio
and Video Analysis, or Microscopic Hair Analysis
What is your perception of forensic science R&D in
the areas of impression and pattern evidence?
What ‘grade’ would you give the efforts?
• Grade: F – There has been insufficient progress since 2009 to
respond to the research and development recommendations in the
NAS Report.
• Grade: C – There has been some progress since 2009. There are
still many unanswered questions with respect to accuracy, reliability,
and error rates.
• Grade: B – There has been significant progress since 2009. There
have been multiple studies to address accuracy, reliability, and error
rates.
• Grade: A - There has been overwhelming progress since 2009.
There is no longer a need for significant investment in additional
strategies to address accuracy, reliability, and error rates.
Lack of Commitment to R&D Will Impede
Knowledge and Innovation
If the law has made you a witness,
remain a man of science.
You have no victim to avenge,
no guilty or innocent person to convict or save
— you must bear testimony within
the limits of science.1
1. Dr. P.C.H. Brouardel, 19th Century French Medico-legalism.
DOJ Issues Scientific and Research
Integrity Policy
http://www.justice.gov/open/doj-scientific-integrity-policy.pdf
DOJ Asserts NIJ Independence
“Across-the-board culture of scientific, technological
and research validity, reliability, accuracy, objectivity
and integrity”
“Director of the National Institute of Justice shall have
final authority over all grants”
“NIJ retains control over the timing and content of
research reports”
NIJ REACTS IMMEDIATELY TO THE 2009 NAS
REPORT WITH RESPECT TO THE CALL FOR
MORE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
NIJ Issues ‘First of its Kind’ Solicitation
Immediately Following the NAS Report
NIJ Establishes the Office of Investigative
and Forensic Sciences (OIFS) in 2010
• The mission of OIFS is to improve the quality and
practice of forensic science through innovative
solutions that support research and
development, testing and evaluation, technology,
information exchange and the development of
training resources for the criminal justice community.
• Scientific staff include physical scientists with varying
backgrounds and experience
NIJ Leadership: Establishing NIJ as the Nation's
Leader in Scientific Research on Crime and Justice
• “NIJ Director John H. Laub, Ph.D., and his long-time
research partner, Robert J. Sampson, Ph.D., of
Harvard University, are joint recipients of the 2011
Stockholm Prize in Criminology”
• “Upon the departure of Director John H. Laub,
Deputy Director Greg Ridgeway, who received his
doctorate in statistics, became Acting Director”
NIJ Has a Substantial Investment in
Forensic Science R&D
• Since 2009, NIJ has
– Provided more than $100 million in R&D awards
– Launching more than 250 R&D projects
– Producing more than 600 scientific publications,
presentations, and final technical reports
FY 2011-2013 NIJ R&D Solicitations
Applied Research &
Development
Basic Research
NIJ Collaborates with NIST by Providing
More than $19 Million since 2009
• 2009 to 2014 - NIST’s Applied Genetics Human Identity Team
• 2009 to 2014 - NIST’s Forensic Toolmark Analysis Project Team
• 2011 - NIST conducted a review and evaluation of the accuracy
of commercially available photo scales
• 2012 - Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Latent Print
Analysis
• 2013 - Latent Print AFIS Interoperability Working Group
• 2013 - Working Group for Biological Evidence Preservation
• 2013 - Working Group on Forensic Science Laboratories
• Present - Working Group on Presenting Forensic Science
Evidence Using Quantitative and Qualitative Terms
Overall Distribution of Funds Between
Applied and Basic/Fundamental
Overall NIJ Distribution of Funding: Applied vs. Basic/Fundamental
Applied
Basic/Fundamental
33%
67%
Forensic Science R&D Funding for
FY2009-2013
Discipline
Funding Awarded
%
Awards
Overall NIJ Distribution of Funding: Forensic Discipline
Categories
Anthropology
$4,541,571
4.49%
19
Controlled Substances
$2,659,868
2.63%
9
Crime Scene Investigation
$4,229,401
4.18%
14
Digital Forensics[1]
$2,821,191
2.79%
5
$483,323
0.48%
1
$2,848,270
2.82%
7
Forensic DNA
$35,960,168
35.56%
74
Friction Ridge
$8,543,027
8.45%
20
General Forensics[2]
$2,170,237
2.15%
6
Impression Evidence
$10,936,182
10.81%
28
Forensic Pathology
$6,912,372
6.83%
12
Questioned Documents
$1,989,618
1.97%
5
Forensic Toxicology
$5,345,849
5.29%
14
$11,697,765
11.57%
37
100.00%
251
Forensic Entomology
Fire and Arson Investigation
Trace Evidence
Anthropology
Controlled Substances
Crime Scene Investigation
Digital Forensics
Forensic Entomology
Fire and Arson Investigation
Forensic DNA
Friction Ridge
General Forensics
Impression Evidence
Forensic Pathology
Questioned Documents
$101,138,842
Forensic Toxicology
Trace Evidence
Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP) Releases Report in February 2014
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/forensicscience_progressreport_feb-2014.pdf
Snapshot of Other Efforts
• From 2011 through 2014, the Annual Meeting of the
American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) has
included over 4,000 oral/poster presentations and
137 workshops.
• From 2009-2013, the Journal of Forensic
Identification (JFI) has received 341 manuscripts and
published 231 peer reviewed articles.
• From 2009-2013, the Association of Firearm and Tool
Mark Examiners (AFTE) Journal has published 255
articles. The AFTE Journal was accepted to
SCOPUS in 2013.
Other Journals Focused on Forensic
Science R&D
•
•
•
•
•
Journal of Forensic Sciences
Forensic Science International
Journal of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science
Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Journal of the American Society of Questioned
Document Examiners
• Many open access online Journals
WHAT WAS HAPPENING PRE-2009?
Pre-2009?
• NIJ R&D responded to the needs of the forensic
science community. i.e., NIJ can only support
proposals submitted for consideration!
• Heavy investment in DNA R&D
• Investments continued in innovation and new
technologies
• Limited successful challenges to admissibility of
impression and pattern evidence – over a decade
passed since Daubert v. Merrell Dow
Pharmaceuticals (1993)
Pre-2009?
• No evidence that impression and pattern evidence
disciplines were not accurate and reliable: Karl
Popper philosophy – science must be falsifiable.
All swans are white ... until you see a black swan
• Research was being conducted throughout
laboratories for years, but submitting manuscripts for
peer review/publication was considered burdensome
– there is anecdotal evidence of a culture change.
NIJ Research is Based on the Needs of the
Forensic Science Community: Use of
Technology Working Groups (TWGs)
• DNA Forensics
DNA & Forensic Biology
• General Forensics
Crime Scene & Medicolegal Death Investigation
Controlled Substances & Toxicology
Impression and Pattern Evidence
Instrumental Analysis/Chemistry
NIJ Research is Based on the Needs of the
Forensic Science Community
http://nij.gov/topics/forensics/Documents/fy14-forensic-twg-table.pdf
Investment in DNA Research and Development
Fiscal
Year
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Total
Number of Average Award
Investment* Projects*
Size
$378,294.00
4
$94,573.50
$715,857.00
5
$143,171.40
$1,495,436.00
6
$249,239.33
$1,312,240.00
5
$262,448.00
$3,112,895.00
10
$311,289.50
$3,953,664.00
7
$564,809.14
$2,979,398.00
5
$595,879.60
$3,948,253.00
10
$394,825.30
$4,256,720.00
11
$386,974.55
$5,258,507.00
13
$404,500.54
2005 $10,246,365.00
17
$602,727.35
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
9
10
17
18
18
14
13
$240,456.56
$404,856.30
$492,807.18
$451,868.77
$520,577.83
$399,487.79
$380,550.23
$2,164,109.00
$4,048,563.00
$8,377,722.00
$5,894,294.00
$9,370,401.00
$5,592,829.00
$4,947,153.00
1985
Discovery of
VNTR probes
1991
st
1 paper on STR
R&D Investment in Forensic
Biology/DNA
$12,000,000
$10,000,000
$8,000,000
$6,000,000
$4,000,000
$2,000,000
$0
1998
FBI Launches CODIS
2000
Backlog
Elimination Act
2005
DNA Fingerprint Act
1st paper on PCR
1997
NIJ/NIST/ASCLD: Forensic
Science Summit
1999
NIJ Report -- FS: Review
of Status and Needs
2004
DNA Initiative Started
2013
Number of Wrongful Convictions Attributed to
Unvalidated/Improper Forensic Science
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Lack of evidence that invalid impression and
pattern evidence science is a root cause to
wrongful convictions
• Not a single exoneration has been attributed to the
accuracy and reliability of a method* with respect to:
• Friction Ridge Analysis
• Firearm & Tool Mark Examinations
• Shoeprint and Tire Tread Evidence
• Questioned Documents/Handwriting Examinations
• Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
Note: Negligent analysis, fabrications/alterations of
reports, withholding data, exaggerated testimony, and
individual examiner errors are not the basis of
unvalidated science.
Laboratory Operations: Perception that there are
problems with the foundational science as it relates to
accuracy and reliability (Not True)
EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH
NAS #3: Research to address issues of accuracy, reliability,
and validity in the forensic science disciplines
Improving the Understanding and the
Reliability of "Sufficiency" in Friction
Ridge Examination
• Pennsylvania State University
• Award: 2010-DN-BX-K267
– This study aimed to understand how latent print
examiners determine the value of a latent print by
testing the ability of practitioners to annotate the
quality, number, and spatial relationships of features
in experimental latent print trials.
– Main empirical findings show that examiner
decision-making is related to the number and spatial
relationships of fingerprint minutiae, and factors like
experience and workload has no clear relationship
with the reliability of examiners’ conclusions.
NOBLIS-FBI Study: False Positive Rate of 0.1%
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/04/18/1018707108.full.pdf
TWG Need: Establishment of best practices in trace
evidence analysis to improve efficiencies
Significance of Elemental Analysis from
Trace Evidence
• Florida International University
• Award: 2009-DN-BX-K252
Glass is one of the most
common types of trace
evidence found in case
scenarios, such as hit-and-run
accidents, burglaries,
kidnappings, homicides and
shootings.
The goal of this research was to develop
analytical protocols and to assess the utility of
glass source comparisons by way of several
interlaboratory studies conducted by 31 forensic
examiners representing 23 different laboratories
in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and
Germany.
Link: https://ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/242325.pdf
NAS #3: Research to address issues of accuracy, reliability,
and validity in the forensic science disciplines
Improve the Scientific Foundation of
Forensic Firearm and Toolmark
Identification
• Miami-Dade Police Department Crime Laboratory
• Award: 2009-DN-BX-K230
– This study analyzed the repeatability and uniqueness
of striations and impressions on cartridge cases fired
in 10 consecutively manufactured slides by evaluating
the ability of firearms and tool mark examiners to
correctly identify test fired cartridge casings fired from
the same slides at different intervals (i.e., the
identification of same gun evidence).
Link: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/237960.pdf
Just Released
Using Quantitative Image Comparisons
for Estimating Error Rates
• The model developed in the paper was able to
account for 64% of the variation in print comparison
accuracy on a novel set of fingerprint images. “While
some of the predictors we found likely comport
with what fingerprint examiners would have
intuited, being able to demonstrate their role
scientifically, and measuring, rather than just
assuming, their importance is a significant step
forward,” Mnookin stated.
Summary of Forensic Science Research
and Development Awards
http://www.nij.gov/topics/forensics/exhibits/pages/forensic-awards.aspx
Examples of Latent Print R&D
Examples of Impression and Pattern
Gerry LaPorte, M.S.F.S.
Acting Director
National Institute of Justice
Office of Investigative & Forensic Sciences
Gerald.Laporte@usdoj.gov
Important Links:
Forensic Science R&D Awards:
http://nij.gov/topics/forensics/pages/forensic-awards.aspx
Fiscal Year 2012 Funding for DNA Analysis, Crime Laboratory Capacity
Enhancement and Other Forensic Activities:
http://ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/244196.pdf